Corpsman, Up!

Chance barely slept that night when it hit him he may have just found 'the one'. He kept going over how they'd just met, the difference in their ages, and the amazing phenomenon known as Echo. He wasn't about to run out and buy an engagement ring, but he couldn't shake the thought that Danika could be his wife somewhere down the road. And every time he thought about that it made him smile.

He got up around 8 o'clock and had a cup of coffee while counting the minutes until he could call. He had no idea when she got up, and he didn't want to disturb her in case she was still in bed.

He held out until nine then sent her a text.

"Hope I'm not waking you up. I just couldn't wait any longer. Let me know when I can call. Chance."

He came very close to adding 'love' but that seemed a little much so he settled for just his name.

He set his phone down and as it touched the coffee table, it buzzed.

He smiled when he saw a text from Danika.

"Hi and good morning! I've been up for an hour or so. I had a very hard time falling asleep because I couldn't get a certain very handsome ER nurse out of my mind! Call me anytime, Chance. Love, Danika."

He knew she didn't mean love as in 'love', but it was still nice to see. He left 'messages' and went to the phone app then hit her number from his 'contacts' page.

Danika answered on the first ring and greeted him with a cheerful, "Good morning!"

"Yes, it is!" he replied.

"And getting better by the moment!" she said with a big smile.

"How long has it been since you and Echo have been to the Woodland Park Zoo?" he asked.

"The zoo? Oh, wow. I'm not sure we ever went. Why? Is that where you wanted to go today?"

"It sounds like fun, and I'm hoping Echo will enjoy it."

"You're a very brave man, Chance," she told him. "Echo might spend the entire time telling us about every animal we see. You sure you're up for that?"

"Very sure," he told her. "Besides, most kids talk about the animals they see. The difference is they usually don't know very much. We might actually learn a few things today."

Danika started to smile then choked up at the sound of his kind words. He not only didn't mind being around her daughter he made it seem like it was something he would enjoy. And deep down she had a feeling he meant what he was saying.

"Then the zoo it is!" she told him.

Chance didn't have to wait to arrive to start learning about the various animals at the zoo. Echo began her 'lecture' the moment he arrived and continued talking all the way to the parking lot. Chance asked several questions which Echo either answered or promised to research.

"Where do you want to go first?" he asked Echo as he paid for their tickets. He was sure Danika would be fine starting anywhere and as also hoped she knew, this was a day for Echo to try and have fun and maybe even be a kid.

"The Humboldt Penguin Exhibit!" she said with genuine excitement.

"Okay," Chance said. "Let's go!"

Echo continued chattering as they walked. The adults weren't ignoring her, they just realized they'd need to talk at the same time or never speak.

"Thank you for doing this, Chance," Danika said as they strolled along.

"Thank you for agreeing to let me," he told her.

She smiled at him and he leaned over and said, "I didn't have a chance to tell you how beautiful you look when I came to pick you up."

"Thank you for saying that, but I was just so glad to see you, I honestly didn't know or care whether you said anything," she told him sincerely.

"I was very glad to see you, too," he replied.

When she smiled again, he held out his hand and without any hesitation, Danika took it.

Echo noticed immediately and said, "Hand holding is part of the lead-up to the mating ritual. Penguins are very interesting in that respect. Did you know the male will sit on the egg for weeks while the female goes out to sea to eat and replenish her fat stores?"

"Why, yes, I did," Chance told her.

"Did you see the National Geographic special, too?" she asked.

"No, sorry. I learned that from watching March of the Penguins," he told her referring to the movie from 2005.

"We have that movie at our house! It was very informative," she replied. "I wasn't born yet when they made it, but I watched it with my mom three years ago."

She kept going as Danika squeezed his hand then quietly asked, "You doing okay?"

"Never better," he told her with a smile.

"It isn't too much?"

"Nope. Not even close," he told her.

"You're an amazing guy, Chance," she said.

"I feel the very same way about you—and your daughter."

As they approached the penguin exhibit, Danika had the feeling that the three of them were a family. It only lasted a few seconds until she remembered she and Chance barely knew each other, and yet it seemed so real that when she came back to reality, even stronger feelings of disappointment followed.

They spent the entire day at the zoo and ate lunch there together.

"I wish today would never end," Echo said while they were eating.

"Yes, this is very nice, isn't it?" her mother said as she looked at Chance.

Before he could speak, Echo said, "I understand, of course, that every day has to end. What I actually meant was it's my wish that the three of us could be together like this every day from now on."

It was said very matter of factly, but Danika felt obligated to say something.

"Honey, that's very sweet, but Chance might have a bit of a different take on that."

"But he doesn't," Chance said while looking right at Danika. "That actually sounds pretty wonderful."

Danika didn't smile, and for the first time Chance wasn't sure what she was thinking so he quickly said, "But you may not share that sentiment so..."

She hated that she was so emotional around him, but she couldn't help it. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she told him very quietly, "No, I definitely share that sentiment. I just didn't think you did."

Echo was sitting between them and when she heard what both of them said, she reached for one of their hands and put them together across her lap.

"There. Now it's time for you to continue the mating ritual and take it to the next logical step. I would suggest a weekend alone so that..."

"Echo! Honey! Please. Stop. Okay?" her mother said, mortified by her daughter's words.

"I see no signs of sarcasm so have I overstepped some kind of social boundary?" she asked with total sincerity.

"Oh, my gosh. Chance, I am so sorry!" Danika said.

"Don't be," he told her. "I might not have phrased it that way, but I will admit I was thinking something very similar."

He was smiling at her and the look of horror on her face gave way to amusement before she smiled back.

When he kept smiling she finally said, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I was trying to read your mind."

"Oh, really?" she said as she lowered her head and raised her eyebrow.

"Yes, really."

"And what was it saying?"

"I'll tell you a little later, okay?" he replied, still smiling at her.

"Mother? Are you blushing?" Echo asked.

"What? No! Of course not. Why would I be blushing?" she asked defensively.

"Well, usually blushing is an indication that..."

Chance tried not to laugh but couldn't help it. When he did, he let go of Danika's hand and put his arm around Echo's shoulder and said, "You are such a wonderful young lady."

When Echo moved even closer to Chance and put her arm around his back and laid her head on her arm without a word, Danika felt the tears coming back.

"I love you, Chance," she said without prompting and with conviction.

He glanced at Danika then said, "I love you, too, Echo-Gekko."

She smiled then laughed, something Danika rarely ever saw. She tried to hide it, but Echo saw her and said, "I can tell my mom is in love with you."

It was another statement of fact and this time, Danika didn't try and correct her. She didn't because she knew her daughter was right.

"Then she and I have something in common," Chance said to Echo while looking right at Danika whose heart was racing as she watched her daughter interacting with this handsome young man as though she'd always known him.

It was nearly six o'clock when they got back to Danika's. Echo actually thanked Chance without being reminded then ran upstairs to put her coat away and that's when Danika said, "I hope you didn't feel too uncomfortable today."

"Why would I?" he asked.

"Well, when Echo said, you know, that..."

"That you're in love with me?" he said finishing her sentence.

He turned toward her and when she looked up into his eyes he said, "I get the feeling you are, and even if you're not, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you."

Her eyes were flying back and forth with his to see if they belied his words.

"Chance. We really only just met. How can you say...how can you be sure..."

He smiled then leaned in and kissed her. When she melted into his arms and kissed him back he waited for several seconds as the kiss went on and on before saying, "That's how I know."

"Even with, you know, all of the...eccentricities?"

"Even with," he told her.

"So...so what's next?" she asked, her body trembling in his arms.

"Well, I believe we take the mating ritual to its next logical step," he said with a very serious tone of voice.

Danika laughed happily and said, "I'm all for that."

"I'm off until 6am tomorrow. We could all go out to dinner," he told her.

"Or..."

"Or?"

"Or I could see if my dad's up to keeping his granddaughter for the evening."

Chance made a kind of, "Oh, really?" face then Danika moved closer and said, "Or maybe longer."

This time he actually said, "Oh, really?" as he pulled her close.

"Isn't that the next logical step?" she said sweetly in his ear.

"I believe it is," he told her.

Two minutes later, she hung up with her father then asked Echo, "How would you like to stay at Grandpa's tonight?"

"You mean like a sleepover?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, kind of," her mom said knowing what she meant.

"Can I take March of the Penguins with me?" she asked.

"I think that would be very appropriate," her mom said.

"Are you sure he's up to that?" Chance asked.

"He's very excited to have her," Danika assured him before she went upstairs to change clothes. "And I believe Mrs. Wilson is there so, yes. It should be very okay."

After a very romantic dinner, Chance offered to take her to a very nice hotel, but Danika said very sweetly, "My place is available and there's no charge."

"Oh, I see," he told her. "Well, free is often better than cheap."

She laughed then said, "I really do love you, Chance. I know it sounds crazy, but I do."

"No, it doesn't sound crazy at all," he told her. "Not to me anyway."

Two hours later they were totally alone for the first time, and after making love, Danika wanted to know, among many other things, what it was like when he was in the war.

He gave her a general overview without going into detail, and when he was finished she told him how brave she thought he was.

"No, the Marines I served with were the brave ones. I just answered the call to 'Corpsman, up!' when they needed me."

"You're too modest," she told him as she ran her hand over his chest.

"And you're too beautiful," he told her with a smile.

"Beautiful enough to make love to me again?" she teased as she ran her hand down his body and 'found him'.

"I believe so," he told her with a smile.

As he grew in her hand, she smiled, purred, then said, "Mmmm. Corpsman, up?"

Chance laughed as he rolled over on top of her and granted her request.

It was around midnight when Danika said, "So what's the next logical step in the mating ritual?"

Chance smiled at her then said, "I'll let you know."

Three months later, he did when he proposed to her in the very place where her car had run out of gas. She wanted to know why they were stopping until Chance ran around to her side, opened the door, and knelt down. It was early Sunday morning so the traffic was still very light.

Danika shrieked when he produced the tiny, black box with the big diamond ring in it and nearly fell out of the car on top of him as she started screaming, "Yes, yes, YES!!" before he could finish proposing.

By the time they married that summer, both of them saw a profound change in Echo. She was still as smart and yes...precocious...as ever, but she'd become so much more warm and loving, and Danika knew the reason why. She knew because she was reminded of it every time she looked over at her very handsome, much-younger husband whom she loved with all of her heart. And one of the many reasons she did was because he loved not only her but her daughter the very same way and she knew that Echo finally had a man in her life who not only wasn't ashamed of her but who loved her for who she was.

And the following year when Danika Petersen gave birth to another little girl, he loved her just as much in the very same way.

After believing no man would ever love her again because no one could possibly love her rather unique daughter, Danika was overwhelmed with the love she now had from her amazing husband, their wonderful 10-year old child genius, and the tiny baby who melted her heart every time she smiled her gummy little smile at her beautiful mommy.

The next year, Chance finally took that job in a clinic where he worked something closer to a 9-5 job that was really 8-6 but only on weekdays giving him time to spend with the new family he so dearly loved. And each time Danika filled up their car's gas tank she smiled at the irony of how forgetting to do so just one time in her life forever changed it for the better.